Powerful Psychological Techniques to Convince People

Movies about successful people have one thing in common – the main/successful character is either a very convincing or smart person. In real life, you probably have met something who could just convince you to do anything.

There’s no overstating the power of persuasion. It’s the precise tool that master salesmen, business leaders, and politicians use to beat their path to success. To that effect, there are hundreds of books written on the keys to persuasion. Some of the most important persuasion skills that you can ever learn are very basic things. In this article, we highlight a couple of psychological tactics that you can use to move people to do things.

Make your Words Powerful

Isn’t it obvious?

The pitch you put forward needs to be loaded with words that have the power to elicit a response. For instance, assume that you’re selling auto insurance. Although this has everything to do with safeguarding people against the risk of car accidents, you don’t really want to put it that way. A convincing communicator will put something along the lines of ‘car-related deaths’.

Why?

Because ‘Death’ is a more powerful word.

Whatever topic or subject you want to convince people about, there’s always that set of keywords that you can use to elicit emotions!

Dress Up

If you’re looking to convince people to do things, you want to appear as confident as you possibly can.

Nice clothing goes a long way towards helping you boost and maintain your confidence. You should also practice body language technique that makes you look more relaxed and confidence.

Make Yourself Scarce

The human mind is hard-wired to pursue scarce things.

That’s why people always want what they can’t have.

So when you’re trying to convince something to take some form of action, make it clear that the offer or opportunity won’t last forever. You want to drive the point that if they don’t take action now, they could all the same miss-out. Find a way to say that in a non-threatening way.

This psychological technique is used all the time by people who are trying to sell stuff online. What is the last time you tried to buy something that was on offer on Amazon? They most likely said that the deal would only last for a couple of hours or days, right?

Create a Connection

Pretty much obvious, right?

People do things because they feel a connection.

Persuasive communicators understand this. They will be likable, and try to establish common ground that can help them build emotional bonds and shared objectives. Any point where you can create a connection with the person you’re trying to convince is a Golden opportunity!

Speak their Lingo

When engaged in a negotiation or a conversation where you’re looking to convince someone, don’t invade them before they finish speaking.

You always want to listen carefully – at first.

Once you observe how they talk and carry themselves, you’ll be in a better position to choose your own approach. If they are straying from jargon, or making jokes along the way, you should too. Find a way to match their language in a relaxed style.

And it’s not just about their language.

Try to pick and match their body language too. If they’re speaking with their hands, that means the form of communication is active. It helps to do things in a similar way. When trying to convince a group of people, try to observe them in the current setting, and figure out what’s likely to sway them. Learn, adapt and implement – it’s an effective cycle.

Keep Away from Verbal Fillers

Verbal fillers such as ‘uh’, ‘um’ and others tend to interrupt your speech. In this case, you lose credibility with the person you’re speaking to. It doesn’t matter whether what you say is important. So find a way to keep your speech flowing and clear. Practice your speech at home or sometimes before speaking to the other party.

Master Timing

When it comes to pitching or trying to sell something, timing is pretty much the deal-maker. You might have a great offer, and a perfect presentation, but bad timing that ruins your chances at persuasion. For instance, busy executives have their schedules crowded during the start of the week. Friday might not be an ideal time to pitch to them. So that makes Thursday a superb day!

Try to understand that person you’re trying to convince better, and pick a time that’s ideal based on their situation!

Get the feel of it? Go out there and put these psychological persuasion tactics to use. Learn and improve your approach based on the outcomes and soon enough you should be able to convince almost anyone to do anything for you.